Cob: Re: Earth Floor!

[Patricia Kerns]

I've done several earth floors using screened road base as the medium.  I
don't do any mixing of materials at all, haven't tried putting in anything
to harden the material...  So it is just earth and clay, with a pretty high
proportion of clay.  My oldest floor is about three years old.  I don't have
a good basis for saying what chairs moving around on it would be, because I
have all immovable furniture in my place.  However, I did drop a heavy
wrench on it while standing up on a ladder once.  It put a little gouge in
the floor.  It was relatively easy to fix, and the patch I put in there
hasn't come out since then, but it is noticeable.  I attribute this more to
my low level of skill in troweling than anything else.  The floor is very
nice to walk on, in socks or bare feet.  I have several coats of linseed oil
on it, and it doesn't dust at all.  Most people who look at it can't believe
its an earth floor - the most common guess is that it's cement.  However,
it's much softer and nicer to walk on than a cement floor.

Patricia




> To those of you who have or have been on a adobe type floor:
>
> What kind of performance are you earth floor people getting?
>
> Can you walk on it in socks.
>
> Does it chuck off easily when you drop something semi-heavy like a large
> can of coffee?
>
> If so is it easily repairable.
>